Welcome to the Work Life Lab! This is a space for exploring what works and what doesn't when trying to balance your busy work and home life. We all want the same thing- better results for the time we put in. Here I try, test, and tell you about what happens when I test ways to better get the outcomes I want. My intent is to share what works for me in the hopes that it'll work for you too. Thanks for reading!

Kid prep, run, meet with a client, get to the conference, present, and then we’re off to Gettysburg for the weekend with the entire family for dinner, nostalgia, and mini-horses. There is a lot going on today but I am so excited to hear the others, then speak at the Chesapeake Bay Organizational Development Network (CBODN) conference today!

Here’s the gist of the message. The slides will be up on Slideshare later today.

High-impact organizations—what are they and how to we get there?

We all want impact. We want to do work we think is important and make progress. Too often, we’re held back by missed opportunities to connect with our leadership and get buy-in because we’re using our language, not theirs.

When I start working with new clients I often hear them say, “We’ve told them (their leadership) this before but they just don’t get it.” Sometimes that is true but I’ve found a lot of times that our bosses understand the numbers but they’re not seeing the connection with the bigger picture—something they care deeply about. And I believe that it’s our job—not theirs—to make that connection.

How might you do this? Well, to start…

Inventory your current ideas, key proposals, objectives, goals or whatever you call the stuff you would really like to see done.

Then, document the top issues for you organization—coming from a recent speech or memo or your agency’s strategic plan. It’s important here to pull from materials and use the language that will seem most familiar to them.

Complete a mapping exercise. Look ideas that can either be renamed or pitched slightly differently to better demonstrate the issue.

Lastly, sit down and plan a series of conversations with the right staff—heads of each line of business or other senior staff to build a broader base of support.

With revamped messages and a calendar loaded with a handful of strategic meetings, you can begin demonstrating a connection with the broader mission.

point of View

The Work Life Lab is a place to explore ways to strike a better balance. professionally and personally. Getting the outcomes you want with more positive impact requires a new mindset and a different way of working. It involves knowing what matters most, focusing your efforts, and managing your time. I believe small changes can create big results. And, I believe in you.

Work Life Lab by Robin Camarote

Finding balance through trial and error

The Work Life Lab is a place to explore what works- and what doesn't- when trying to strike that elusive sense of work-life balance. I'm a working mom with three kids. I try things and share my experiences with the hopes that some of the best strategies might work for you too.